Phoenix VA Medical Center Still A 1-Star Facility

The Department of Veterans Affairs released its end of fiscal year 2018 hospital star ratings, which looks at quality of care at VA Medical Centers across the country. Several centers made significant improvements, but Phoenix wasn’t one of them.

The ratings are part of what the VA calls its Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL). The goal is to assess things like access to care, nursing turnover and patient perception. And the perception of the Phoenix VA isn’t good.

Cindy Dorfner with the Phoenix VA said a survey is randomly sent out to people who have received in- or out-patient services

"So perception is 28 percent of our overall score and the perception of our hospital is still low and so it really drags us down," said Dorfner.

Phoenix again received one star out of five. It was also one of 15 medical centers nationwide that was placed under a program to monitor high risk centers. She said 11 medical centers have shown improvement, including Phoenix.